![]() Jones and how maybe some of them will grow up to write kid's books with diverse characters. With my older students, we were able to have a discussion about diversity in the books they read, why there isn't a Latina Junie B. We talked about who has ridden the bus and who has seen a street performer. With the younger students, I didn't talk about the diversity of the characters, but we did talk about volunteering time and what a soup kitchen is. And then I get to give a shout-out to another San Diego county writer and winner of the Newbery Honor medal this year for her book Echo, Pam Muñoz Ryan, who is also half Mexican.īesides being accessible because of the reading level, I value Last Stop on Market Street because reading it has opened doors to so many amazing conversations with my students. ![]() ![]() Also, it is very cool to be able to tell my students that, not only did Matt de la Peña, who is half Mexican and half white, grow up in National City, which is in San Diego county, where our school is, but that Matt is also the first Latino author to win the Newbery Medal. As I read this book over and over to my first through fifth graders, I came to share the belief of the ALA that Last Stop on Market Street is indeed worthy of the Newbery Medal, in large part because it is accessible for my students, many of whom cannot read Newbery winners because the reading level is too high for them, but also because it is intimately, immediately relatable. In his essay, de la Peña says that he strives to "write books about diverse characters, but now I try to place them in stories that have nothing to do with diversity, not overtly anyway," and this is definitely true here. Last Stop on Market Street is a book that, unlike most, shows my students people of all colors (and their colors) as well as people who share their socioeconomic status. ![]() The majority of my students speak English as a second language and struggle to read at grade level. Almost 90% of the student body at my school qualifies for free lunch and many of them live in a home with multiple families, are foster children or do not live with both parents. The student body at the school where I am the librarian is almost 90% Hispanic, with African Americans, Asians and whites making up the other 10%. Then, I decided to take the book to school and read it to as many kids as possible over the course of the week and my opinion changed, almost immediately. I was surprised and a little angry, thinking about the amazing novels that had come out in 2015, and began writing, in my head, a heated response to the librarians on the committee that made this out-of-the-box choice. When I heard that Last Stop on Market Street won the Newbery, I did a double take, rereading the announcement on the American Library Association's website. Traditionally, this award is given to novels, although this is not specified in the criteria, which states that the award be given to the "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children." Last Stop on Market Street also, very deservedly, won a Caldecott honor, an award given to the "most distinguished picture book for children." I received a review copy of this book when it came out and, as sadly sometimes happens with great books, I read it but didn't get around to reviewing it. A week ago, Last Stop on Market Street, a picture book by YA author Matt de la Peña, illustrated by Christian Robinson, won the Newbery award.
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